In profiles we trust. In an online space like blogs and forums, trust is elusive and uncommon. In real life, we establish trust with someone through exposure and a person's demeanor. Yet, on the Internet, this is impossible due to the indirect and anonymous nature of online interaction. Though we can never fully trust a person online, in my opinion, we can instead assign credibility in their claims and statements.
One way trust can be accrued in an online setting is through the profile. In most communities, such as forums or blogs, a profile is required for participation. A profile consists of an avatar, a visual representation of the owner, and basic information. Neither can never be accurate indicative of the owner, however, since avatars rarely depicts the real person nor basic information can never be confirmed.
In my own experience, I find myself "trusting" individuals by judging the technical composition of their comments. Not to be a grammar Nazi, but I find comments lacking grammatical errors and having line breaks if long to be much more credible. The more effort the person put into responding, the more they are passionate about and thus, more knowledgeable about the subject. An online community that I frequent is the Gametrailers.com forum. In this community, there are two important trust mechanism all members are subjected to. The first is the ability to post media, such as pictures, gifs and videos, restricted to Level 5 and up. The second is the ability to create a thread, restricted for Level 1 and up. Levels are acquired through experience, with is acquired through participation. Overall, I think these two mechanisms are indicative of the level of trust the moderators and administrator have for forum dwellers. And from what I've seen, the restriction is well justified.
Overview
In profiles we trust. In an online space like blogs and forums, trust is elusive and uncommon. In real life, we establish trust with someone through exposure and a person's demeanor. Yet, on the Internet, this is impossible due to the indirect and anonymous nature of online interaction. Though we can never fully trust a person online, in my opinion, we can instead assign credibility in their claims and statements.
One way trust can be accrued in an online setting is through the profile. In most communities, such as forums or blogs, a profile is required for participation. A profile consists of an avatar, a visual representation of the owner, and basic information. Neither can never be accurate indicative of the owner, however, since avatars rarely depicts the real person nor basic information can never be confirmed.
In my own experience, I find myself "trusting" individuals by judging the technical composition of their comments. Not to be a grammar Nazi, but I find comments lacking grammatical errors and having line breaks if long to be much more credible. The more effort the person put into responding, the more they are passionate about and thus, more knowledgeable about the subject. An online community that I frequent is the Gametrailers.com forum. In this community, there are two important trust mechanism all members are subjected to. The first is the ability to post media, such as pictures, gifs and videos, restricted to Level 5 and up. The second is the ability to create a thread, restricted for Level 1 and up. Levels are acquired through experience, with is acquired through participation. Overall, I think these two mechanisms are indicative of the level of trust the moderators and administrator have for forum dwellers. And from what I've seen, the restriction is well justified.
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